Best Games Of 2018: Red Dead Redemption 2

Red Dead Redemption 2 may be one of the very best games I've ever played. I could talk at length about being sucked into the world and spending many hours just existing there. From aimless wandering around the beautiful world, to role playing being in town, rolling into the local establishment, getting a few drinks, a plate of food and then playing the local card game. Then topping the night off by brushing the horse, giving it a bite and either retiring to a local inn for the night or wandering out to set up camp.

The light maintenance required in tending to Arthur by eating every once in awhile, brushing your horse or maintaining your peace makers gives me a small connection with the character and the world. That's all without even touching the story. The story is fantastic and tragic at the same time. While the first game had that feeling, you were seeing, in essence, the after math of ruin. In this game, you are living the downfall.

The writer of the article sums it up well about playing as Arthur, especially if you read his Journal entries. You can tell, he wants this life behind him, wants to live in peace in the old west, but the gangs past misdeeds are catching up. It's not just Arthur who is fascinating, it's also the gang surrounding him. I almost wish there was more personal missions with some of them. Having John in the gang is interesting too, during poker games at the camp, I almost root for him to beat me.

The game does have some weak points, like some of the dead eye events are frustrating and the response to you defending yourself when someone else picks a fight seems one sided, overall the excellence of the game easily glazes over those frustrations.

The game is quite the experience.

My BIGGEST problem with RDR2 was that at the end of the day it was a prequel. No matter how many times John got captured or disappeared or was injured; you knew he was going to make it to the end of the game and beyond. You knew the gang would dissolve and that Dutch's delusions of grandeur were going to be the driving force behind their decent from Robin Hood and his Merry Men to just straight criminals. And SPOILERS: Arthur wasn't going to make it.

Nothing about this game was a "surprise" or "shocking" you knew where you were going to end up before you loaded the game AND THAT is why Red Dead Redemption 2, while massive in scope and technical accomplishments, does NOT deserve to be game of the year.

On a personal aside; Abigail is one of the most annoying characters in video game history. Her character's lack of logic and her complete failure to understand how the world works even though she rides with a BAND OF OUTLAWS makes me want to throw the video game out the window. I can see why John disappeared for a year plus just to get away from her.

Jack comes in second on that list of annoying characters. If YOU didn't bring the dog along, Jack, the dog would not have been bitten, BUT logic. John didn't even want you to bring the stupid animal.

Without a doubt, this is one of the best games I ever played. The story is very real and the voice acting is truly superb. There are some heady flaws including long travel times and ridiculous save points. The game has tons of stories, side missions and hundreds of things to do. But you get lost and even confused, with all of the crafting, upgrades and other miscellaneous things to improve your overall character or camp.

IMHO, the best RPG of all time is The Witcher. A solid 10. RDR2 comes in a close second, but falls short because for the reasons noted above.

My score: 9

I loved the original Red Dead Redemption. I've played a bit of this one, but it just comes across as boring. It has a lot of elements that I typically enjoy in a game, but this just feels so slow.

most over hyped game of the year

Very solid summary and a rare take on what is often a game praised without caveat. I agree that RDR2 presents the player with only the illusion of choice, but no real choice at all. The linear nature of the missions is so strict that I wouldn't even call it an open world game, merely a linear game with a broad path, but one that is still linear. But I don't fault Rockstar for this, it had to be this way in order to create what is one of the best stories ever told in video games. The plot, character development, and voice acting are all perfect.

What is not perfect is the game's controls. Everything from walking to shooting to riding, even trying to pick an item up off of a shelf places RDR2 among the worst games I have every played. If this game were made by anyone other than Rockstar, I'm afraid it would not have received nearly the scores it has. And that outcome would be deserved because while the game has an incredible story, it is still supposed to be a game. Sadly, RDR2 would have been a better experience as a movie. I found myself lamenting every time a cut scene ended and I had to actually play the game again. It was an unnecessarily laborious experience resulting from Rockstar's decision to use the same in-game mechanics they have been using for more than 10 years. From a market perspective there is no need to update this, however, seeing that RDR2 had the most successful debut of any game in history. Still, this should not be excused by Gamespot as they determine their game of the year. While RDR2 would undoubtedly deserve Gamespot's movie of the year, it cannot rightly hold the title of game of the year.

Even though Red Dead 2 didn't take home the big prize at the Game Awards show it will no doubt be topping many publications GOTY list or at the very least being a top contender.

While the jury is still out on whether or not this sequel (-weeeelllll, Ninja. Technically it's a prequel so...-) will have the same effect and garner the same love as its predecessor it mention as a top contender for GOTY is more than warranted and I think the acclaim and sales success it has already amassed is evidence of this.

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